We first answered this question almost two and a half years ago and some notable new additions to Las Vegas' aquatic offerings prompted us to revisit this subject, not least because we really like aquariums.
The Atlantis Aquarium to which you refer is located in the Forum Shops and is a 50,000-gallon saltwater tank that's home to about 500 fish, including rays and sharks. Twice a day, one brave diver ventures in to feed them (in the case of the sharks and rays, by hand). The feedings take place at 1:15 pm and 5:15 pm daily and, even cooler, at 3:15 pm daily you can enjoy a free "below-the-scenes" tour, which takes you beneath the tank and through the filtration system, kitchen, ray and shark pool, and fish acclimation areas. Meet at the tour-information sign in front of the aquarium, or call 702/893-3807 and ask to be put through to Debbie at the aquarium. (Note: Since we last tackled this topic the school tours have been discontinued, but we can confirm that the daily public tour is still in operation).
Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay is open daily 10 am-11 pm (last admission sold at 10 p.m.) and costs $16.95 for adults and $10.95 for children 5-12 (discounts are available for locals). The aquarium holds nearly two million gallons of water and includes a tunnel that you can walk through, as sharks swim overhead. Other exhibits include rare reptiles, mezmerizing jellyfish, a petting tank where you can tickle Southern rays, Port Jackson sharks, and Horseshoe crabs, and a Komodo dragon. There's a staff of 16 naturalists to answer your questions. If you happen to be at Mandalay Bay but don't want to pay that (rather hefty) admission price, there's also a 12,200-gallon aquarium in the hotel lobby. Plus, click this link for information about the new "Dive with the Sharks" program for hotel guests.
Talking of hotel lobbies, the Mirage has a 20,000-gallon saltwater aquarium located behind the front desk, where anyone's free to take a peek. It's home to angelfish, puffer fish, tangs, and more than 1,000 coral-reef animals (representing 60 species) from Australia, Hawaii, Tonga, Fiji, the Red Sea, the Marshall Islands, the Sea of Cortez, and the Caribbean. The tank is 53 feet long, eight feet deep, and six feet from front to back, with an interior carefully created to simulate a coral reef, without using any live coral (now a threatened species itself.)
Another excellent free exhibit is Silverton's collection of fresh and saltwater aquariums. The 117,000-gallon artificial reef is home to over 4,000 tropical fish, plus three species of stingrays and six species of sharks. Three times daily there's an interactive feeding show (1:30, 4:30, and 7:30 pm), with a Q&A portion, where you can pose questions to the diver. The Mermaid Lounge bar, adjacent to the aquarium, also features two 500-gallon LED-lit jellyfish tanks, which look like those hypnotic lava lamps from the '60s. And finally, the Bass Pro Shop is also home to an 18,000-gallon water feature, housing over 100 koi carp, a 20,000-gallon Nevada lake display that's home to huge channel catfish and other freshwater species, and a 28,000-gallon rapid-flowing canyon display, housing water birds, turtles, and more fish.
Another great water attraction, which was relatively new last time we ran this question, is The Tank at the Golden Nugget. Back then, the pool (and, hence, the water slide that goes through the middle of the shark tank) was for hotel guests only, but these days it's open to non-guests for a $20 fee ($15 for kids). The 200,000-gallon aquarium, with its collection of sharks, game fish, and other aquatic creatures from around the world, is viewable by all for free but you get the best views from the pool area. As an aside, here's a link to all the other pools in Las Vegas that are open to the public.
The 1,700-gallon aquarium at the Seahorse Lounge in Caesars Palace is a must for seahorse fans. At one point we heard reports that it was seahorse-free, but a call to a friendly bartender just confirmed that they have 20+ Australian Pot Belly seahorses in in the tank currently, plus a selection of freshwater fish.
The Rainforest Cafe in the MGM Grand has an usual aquarium -- the 10,000 gallon saltwater tank is in the form of an archway, which you walk through to enter the restaurant.
The newest addition we know of to the aquarium scene is again at Caesars Palace (which we hereby declare "Fish Tank Capital" of Las Vegas). The entrance to the relatively new Beijing Noodle No. 9 (good food but pricey) features six tanks each containing approx. 200 goldfish, which is pretty cool.
The only other aquarium we knew of in town was originally outside MGM Grand's Sea Blue restaurant, but was removed on account of the birds that occasionally make their way uninvited into the casino, via trade entrances and other ingresses, crashing into the glass tank.
If you know of any other good aquariums that we missed, please let us know.
